South Korea speaks out on U.S. decision to veto ban on Apple products

There’s been a veritable backlash on the U.S. government’s decision to cancel the ban that the ITC had placed on the import of a few Apple products, with the media calling it an act of “protectionism.” Now the South Korean government has expressed concerns about the decision, calling on the U.S. trade body and the Obama administration to make “fair and reasonable decisions” in the upcoming ruling where it’s Samsung’s turn to face the possibility of having some of its products banned from import into the United States.

The South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy, said in a statement:

We express concerns about the negative impact that such a decision would have on the protection of patent rights.

The ITC had placed a ban on the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 3G and iPad 2 3G for infringing on one of Samsung’s patents, and Apple was quick to file for a review in the hopes the ban would be lifted before it even went into effect, with the wish being granted by the U.S. trade body. Naturally, this has caused people to question whether the U.S. government will be stepping in to save its home-grown companies against foreign competitors in the future as well, and whether foreign companies will see fair play in such patent cases going forward.